Manta
The Wharf
“Finger Wharf”
Woolloomooloo, Sydney
Ph: 02 9332 3822

There was a rollicking old party song my parents used to sing when I was a kid and the chorus was ‘Otto drives me crazy, so Otto’s gotto go’ I thought of it  when dining at Manta on Finger Wharf at the ‘Loo. Otto’s is next door. Otto’s ( see review) was made famous and (for  a while owned by) ‘Golden Tonsils’ himself John Laws.

Then his partners left and then Laws left and then it seems a lot of the regular customers decided that ‘Otto’s gotto go’ and they left too. On this Saturday night Otto’s was booked out for a private function and all the tables and chairs were cleared out for a party outside.

One place that  benefited from the Otto exodus has been Manta. A great seafood eatery which used to be called Manta Ray.

Like all the restaurants on the wharf Manta’s ambience (and winter  comfort) have benefited greatly from the waterfront view and those sentinels called gas lamps. I counted more than 30. Apart from looking great with their rosy glow they have virtually doubled the seating capacity of the restaurants. At Manta, they told me, their annual gas bill is about $35,000.  The Hungry Hinch reviewed Manta (Ray) in the summer of 2005 but I thought it was worth a winter re-visit.

We were eating ‘latish’ and I appreciated it when the waiter warned me that one of their specials was scallops on the half shell and that they only had one serving left if we were interested. I know that that is sometimes a ploy designed to unload something that they have too much of but on this occasion it was an appreciated warning.

The scallops (six of them) came still attached to the shell which, to me, is a must. I have this vision of some kitchen hand out the back scrubbing scallop shells clean so that they can be used as a plate for cheaper

scallops.  They were served with the orange roe attached which is correct. I have mentioned elsewhere the “roe debate”. In New York they don’t serve it. Why?  Craig Claiborne the talented (and feared) restaurant

reviewer for the New York Times explained to me that they didn’t serve the roe because, on the Long Island variety, the roe was an unappetising grey.

Mrs. Nosebag had a meaty mushroom soup which she really enjoyed. For a main course she went, yet again for grilled barramundi with wild mushrooms and gremolata. She has been heartened of late because some

barramundi farms are now growing the fish in much deeper water. And it shows in the better taste and texture.

I had the Livornese fish stew. It was really just another name for Bouillabaisse but I had no complaints. There were plenty of molluscs and pieces of fish. And the stock was not thin nor over-powering.

No wonder that Hollywood and Broadway star Hugh Jackman said when asked what he missed most about Australia: ‘The food. The freshness. And our abundance of seafood’.

For dessert at Manta I was sorely tempted by a dish that leapt out of the menu. A vanilla bean crème brulee with persimmon, mandarin and crostoli. I didn’t succumb.

Instead we shared a cheese platter for $28 that featured a slab of Roquefort from the Pyrenees, a ‘bra duro’ made from cow’s milk in Cuneo, Italy, a cow’s milk Carozzi from Lombardy in Italy and a goat’s milk cheese from Gympie in Queensland. Little wonder that cheese and quince paste, and dried muscatels and crispy fruit and nut bread is increasing in popularity in Sydney and Melbourne.

In fact, it was such a languid night with good food (and even better Company) that I didn’t miss Otto’s at all.

November 27, 2007